Mark of Athena
by Acadia Cor
Summary: Annabeth is nervous as Argo II touches down at Camp Jupiter, but she never expected Percy to be the first person she saw. A two-shot to celebrate the book release.
1. The Reunion

**Hello collective peoples of planet Earth! Mark of Athena is coming out in a whopping two days and how do I celebrate? With a countdown two shot, of course! There will be a new chapter on October 2nd, when the book comes out for real. Anyone else excited?**

* * *

They arrived on a warm summer day, a nearly imperceptible breeze ruffling the hair of the armed Roman soldiers near the Little Tiber, and a considerably larger one whooshing through the occupants of Argo II.

"Hoist the mainsail!" Leo Valdez hollered as he swung around the base of the main mast, one arm keeping contact with the smooth metal. "Port! Starboard! Cut the jib!" His grin was unparalleled among the makeshift crew, who all happened to be staring at their captain/supreme overlord with a form of slack-jawed incredulosity.

"Cut the jib? We don't even _have_ a jib!" Piper called back to him from her post on the starboard promenade.

"Are you _sure_?" Leo waggled his eyebrows and jumped down from the mast, jogging the last few yards to Piper.

"Whatever," she drew out the word as she rolled her eyes. "C'mon sailor boy," Piper waved her hand to beckon him. "Jason called a meeting."

"Oh, so Jason calls meetings now?" Leo followed, his shoes squeaking against the deck's flooring material.

"Yep," Piper said, pulling open the door to the below decks. She felt indifferent on the subject. While Jason wasn't the leader at Camp Half-Blood, he was the leader at the Roman one and even if it did feel uncomfortable for him to act all leadershippy in front of Annabeth, Grover, and the other senior campers, she wouldn't contest it. I mean, they _did_just save a whole bunch of people from death and destruction and whatnot.

They entered the room, a near replica of the old meeting room in the Big House, only minus the ping-pong table. Instead it had a single bulb casting warm light and dark shadows on the cabin heads that were present and currently sitting on stools in a haphazard circle, leaning against the celestial bronze-plated planks.

"Leo," Jason lifted his head from his palms. "Now we can start." He nodded in the direction of the Stoll brothers. "Travis, you told me to call a meeting, what's the matter?"

The slightly taller twin stood from his chair and stepped closer to the light so his features were cast in a kind of maniacal contrast that he no doubt enjoyed. "We need to decide on how we're going to enter." His face was set, determined, like making an impression was the most important thing in the world.

"Like normal people?" Thalia ventured and glanced at her other hunters and Annabeth, who shrugged in return.

"Does it really matter?" Annabeth added.

Conner scoffed. "Uh, yeah. Those Romans are all traditionalist and crap. If we rush out _en masse_, they're never going to take us seriously!"

Jason nodded. "He's right. Decorum is everything in Camp Jupiter. What do you have in mind?" He squinted at the twins.

Conner and Travis exchanged glances. "We need bongo drums, the cabin flags, a satyr with excellent breath control, heavy Egyptian eyeliner, a gallon of kerosene, and three tons of Alaskan-bred, cage free salmon."

Everyone in the room whose eyebrows were still intact raised them as high as possible.

"Done," Jason said in an even tone, leaning back on his stool so his back touched the hull.

"One thing," Michael Yew said and elbowed himself into the discussion. "It has to be badass."

* * *

Percy led Hazel and Frank to the front of the small army that was gathering by the Little Tiber and navigated his way to the front of the crowd, both of his arms still around his friends' shoulders.

"You're going to love the Greeks," Percy grinned and extricated his arms from their necks as he took his place next to Reyna and Octavian, who was absentmindedly drumming the pads of his fingers on the pommel of his dagger, ready to react should anyone approach him with anything more threatening than a dragonfly. "They're some of the nicest people I've ever met. Really." At that statement, Octavian shot Percy a glare.

"Octavian, Reyna," Percy nodded to each of them and folded his hands behind his back.

"Praetor," Octavian and Reyna both replied in turn as they all focused their attention on the approaching warship.

"So your girlfriend's up there?" Hazel squinted and looked up, shielding her eyes with her left hand from the high-noon sun.

"Hopefully," Percy said, his green eyes small as slits as he attempted to scan the deck of the ship, but the glare off the golden hull was too bright.

As the ship touched down on the soft grass closest to the denizens of Camp Jupiter, the shiny hull of the massive warship opened and the Greeks emerged.

* * *

It was pandemonium in the hull of Argo II. Campers rushed to get in their places as Leo called out "Moon landing in 5, everyone! Let's make this entrance count, people!" He clapped his hands once and moved to round the corner.

Thalia, who was positioned behind the flag bearers with three of her fellow hunters, snorted. "What are you, a pageant mom?" She asked Leo.

"Just excited," he replied as he dashed back to the control room to land the ship.

"Okay," he sighed as he sat in his chair and surveyed the controls in front of him. "Hull is opening!" He yelled down the corridor and turned to take his place in line. On his way he clapped a hand on Jason's shoulder. "You ready?"

Jason gripped the flag of Zeus. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Leo nodded and walked away, shooting a wink at Piper, who promptly rolled her eyes. "That boy just doesn't quit," she laughed.

Jason thought back to the meeting they had earlier in a very different section of Argo II.

_"I can't be central," Jason told the twins as they poured over a draft of the processions. "This can't be all about me. Besides, there's no one to represent Zeus since Thalia is doing her hunter thing. Let me be Zeus's flag bearer." _

_"Man," Leo shook his head. "You're giving up one killer entrance." He pointed to a section of the paper. "If you're a flag holder person thing, you can't even talk or smile or smite someone!" _

_Jason gave a wan smile. "But this isn't all about me. It's about the Greek camp uniting with the Roman camp, not the Romans getting their praetor back." _

_Conner shrugged. "If you say so..." He looked at Travis and put a finger to his chin in thought. "Now what are we going to do with all that kerosene and salmon?" _

Jason heard a creak as the gangplank descended completely.

"Showtime," he said and smiled at Piper, who smiled back as he took her hand in his.

"Showtime," she replied.

* * *

The hull opened Noah's Ark style, a satyr trotting out to one side of the gangplank. He blew three even notes from his pan flute and from the depths of the ship came a steady drum beat as flags representing each cabin in Camp Half-Blood descended the gangplank in synchronized steps, the campers either a picture of some serious badassery or the picture of someone trying to emulate some serious badassery, but didn't quite know what it meant. They split as they reached the grass, one flag going right and the other left until they reached a respectable distance in order for all the flags to stand in a line.

Percy began to recognize other campers he knew as they came out two-by-two. Travis held the Hermes flag, while Conner stood in for Percy with the Poseidon cabin's flag. Katie Gardner represented Demeter with Pollox as her partner, representing Dionysus as his last demigod child. Annabeth was still nowhere to be found.

A gasp rippled through the crowd as the bearer of Zeus's flag stepped into the sunlight, his hand returning to the flagpole, as it was previously entangled with the bearer of Aphrodite's flag.

All of the flags ended in a line, still facing opposite until a beat past, then they pivoted front and thrust their flags into the ground, one hand holding the pole to the left, the other behind their back. At that moment several things happened. The drum beat came to a head, the flags all blew true, the sun blazed brighter, and the campers let out a type of military-esque cheer or call.

But it was only for a second, and before the Roman campers knew it, the satyr was sounding a horn he had produced from a small leather bag.

"I present to you," he called to the Romans, "the immortal maidens, protectors of the moon and the animals of the forest, the Hunters of Artemis."

Thalia and three other hunters descended, knees bent and bow drawn, in full silver regalia. Thalia's hair was longer, tied carefully in an intricate braid, her silver circlet glinting in the sun as she walked towards the Romans. She slowly moved the notched arrow from left to right and back again, increasingly suspicious of a Roman attack. They took their place in front of Apollo's flag and one girl shot an arrow towards the sky. Mid-air it transformed into a glimmering pennant, barely visible in the sunlight, but it sure did draw a reaction from the crowd akin to the oohs and ahhs of a television studio or a magic show.

The satyr blew his horn again. "The captain of Argo II, tamer of the golden dragon, fire user, and son of Hephaestus, Leo Valdez."

A tanned teenage boy shielded his eyes from the sunlight as he practically jogged down the path, injecting so much swagger into his step he might have fallen off if he wasn't looking where he was going. He winked at a few choice girls in the crowd and waved with two fingers like some kind of celebrity. As his feet touched the grass he clicked his finger, producing a small flame, then another and another until his whole hand was on fire. Then, before any of the other Greek campers could pull him away, he blew the fire right over the crowd.

The Greeks looked equally as shocked as the Romans and the flag bearers of Zeus and Aphrodite pulled him away from center stage, the blonde boy slapping him over the head, but Leo escaped and ran to his place in front of Hephaestus's flag, bowing and blowing kisses to the crowd.

"Idiot," Piper muttered and reached out to doff him again, eliciting some snickers from the crowd.

"Frank," Hazel hissed and grabbed at his hand. "That's Sammy!" Her eyes were wide when Frank took his gaze off the Greeks.

"That's impossible," Frank replied and rubbed the top of her hand. "You know that. Let's just watch the show and ask him later," Frank did a low whistle and looked back at the satyr, who was blowing his horn again. "Besides, these Greeks are... Something else."

"The Oracle of Delphi and attendants!"

Percy snickered because he knew that Rachel didn't even have attendants. It looked to be like her entrance was the product of the Aphrodite cabin. Two girls done up in Greek servant dressed carried the train of Rachel's own empirical dress, one that made her look like Helen of Troy or some Egyptian princess of the Nile. She looked royal, and completely terrified next to the hunters in front of Apollo's flag.

Reyna shot Percy a look and he cleared his throat, staring forwards with a lingering smile.

The horn sounded again, but longer and more elaborate. The satyr puffed out his chest and proclaimed in a proud voice, "Member of the Council of Cloven Elders, protector of young demi-gods, and savior of the wild, his Lordship Grover Underwood!"

Grover trotted out and bleated in surprise at the crowd. "Silenus, stop it," he muttered to the satyr, his eyes as large as dinner plates.

The Romans stood in awe at the heir to Pan, and then Reyna kneeled, pulling down Percy with her when he just shot Grover a thumbs up and a conspiratorial wink.

"That's the Lord of the Wild," Reyna jerked him into a kneeling position. "Show him some respect."

"No, that's my best friend," Percy's eyes twinkled when he said that. It had been too long. "And he hates stuff like this."

Reyna grumbled and stood as Grover passed them and the horn sounded once more, but it was back to the short toot for the demigods.

_Could this be her_? Percy couldn't afford to be hopeful, but his stomach fluttered in anticipation as the satyr began to list a string of titles.

"Hero of Olympus, retriever of Zeus's lightning bolt, defeater of Kronus, grand architect of the godly realm, holder of Daedalus's scrolls, savior of the camp's borders, daughter of Athena, and leader of Camp Half Blood, Annabeth Chase!"

His heart stopped cold in his chest, he couldn't breathe, he seemed to have his essence being drawn to the shine of her golden hair, the curl of that perfect smirk, the spark in those thunderhead eyes.

And she was also riveted by him. Annabeth gasped, stepping back a pace as Percy's face was the first one that she picked out in the crowd. As soon as her senses caught up with her, she rushed forward, trundling down the gangplank steps as fast as she could without tripping.

He was there, he was alive, and she had finally found him. Then her feet were leaving the ground, running like she had never run before and never will again. In the blink of an eye she was in Percy's arms being swung around like a tilt-a-whirl. Her hands gripped his neck with affectionate ferocity, his arms wrapped around her waist with the same strength, twirling like teacups. They laughed for all they were worth, foreheads pressed together like Siamese twins.

"Don't you _ever_leave me again," Annabeth pulled Percy closer on 'ever,' her mouth set in a wide smile.

They stopped spinning and Percy put her down on the soft grass of the Field of Mars, his hands remaining on her waist, her hands on his neck. "I wouldn't dream of it," he said simply and pulled her in for a kiss, one that put all other kisses to shame.

"Huaaah!" The assembled Greeks sent up a cheer, raising their flags and miscellaneous weapons with joy as their camp was finally united.

Percy punched his fist into the sky, his lips smiling against Annabeth's as he gained another cheer from the Greeks and an awkward silence from the Romans who really didn't enjoy seeing their praetor canoodling with the enemy.

They pulled away from each other, breathing heavily.

"You look weird in purple," Annabeth said, looking into his eyes.

Percy laughed. "And you look perfect in orange. C'mon," he slung one arm over her shoulder and she mover hers to his hips. "Let's go to Rome."

* * *

**Yay! Percy and Annabeth are reunited! It took me forever to think up this scene because I wanted it to be so elaborate. I think if the reunion scene in the real book is just all blah I'll throw it against a wall. Oh well, Rick Riordan ****_is_**** a boy after all, even if he is awfully good at giving us a steady stream of Percabeth.**

**Stay tuned for more installments!**

**-Acca**


	2. The Senate Meeting

**Sorry this is late! I was stuck inside my house reading like a madman.**

* * *

The rakish smile never left Percy's face as he walked back to Reyna, Octavian, and the senators.

"Hey guys, this is Annabeth, leader of Camp Half-Blood," he said nonchalantly.

Everyone took one big, collective gulp.

"We saw," Reyna shot him an _are you completely out of your mind?_ look.

"A-and heard," Frank added, his eyebrows somewhere off in the troposphere.

"Aww, c'mon guys, I thought it was cute!" Piper appeared at Annabeth's side, abandoning her Aphrodite flag with Jason.

"And you are?" Reyna asked, her tone neither suspicious nor friendly.

"Piper McLean," she held her hand out for Reyna to shake. "Daughter of Aphrodite."

Ever the master of bad timing, Jason wobbled over, trying to juggle both Zeus and Aphrodite's flags."Uh, babe?" Jason called to Piper as the flags began to wrap around each other like siblings in a squabble. "A little help?"

Piper laughed and gave Reyna a knowing look. "He defeated a Titan but he can't even seem to hold two flags at the same time." She turned behind and held out one hand to him. "Be there in a sec!" she called before turning back to Reyna. "Was he always such a ditz?"

Reyna's lips pressed together into a thin line before she replied. "Just a bit..." A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as Piper dashed back to help Jason with the flags, but it dissipated when Piper took the flags into her possession and Jason kissed her on the forehead.

Reyna raised one hand to quiet the Romans (as if they needed it) and advised Annabeth to do the same as well.

"Tonight we welcome new friends into Camp Jupiter," Reyna began in a loud, booming voice. "But it is more than that. Tonight," she extended one arm "We welcome back a praetor." A cheer erupted from the Romans and was echoed by the Greeks who, frankly, just enjoyed cheering.

"I believe a feast is in order! But first, all senators must meet to discuss a possible treatise with Camp Half-Blood. You are dismissed." Reyna shouted, the Roman crowd cheering even more as they pulled Jason into the mob. He shrugged apologetically at Piper before Dakota managed to lift Jason onto his shoulders along with three other Roman soldiers.

"I'll see you at the feast!" he shouted.

_Yeah right_, Piper thought._At the size of this crowd, I won't see him for years_.

"Let's go, Pipes," Leo came up and tugged on her elbow. "I'm hungry."

Piper snickered. "You're always hungry." But she went with him anyway, trailing behind Annabeth and Percy who were smiling and holding hands, talking animatedly about something or other.

"They look so happy, don't they?" Piper asked as she followed the crowd with Leo.

"Yeah," Leo replied. "But it's such a waste."

Piper looked at him. "Why?"

He grinned in response. "She would have been so much hotter with me!"

Piper almost doubled over laughing. "Don't be such a man whore, Percy would smash your face in. It's probably not worth it."

Leo flicked up his imaginary collar and puffed out his chest. "Ladies love the Leo."

Piper couldn't stop laughing. "Don't kid yourself, dude."

* * *

"I object!"

Octavian was the first person to jump out of his seat during the Senate meeting, to no surprise of Percy, Reyna, Annabeth, nor the entire Senate. The meeting was taking place on a more secluded section of the Field of Mars, considering the fact that the Senate House roof caved in during the battle. A podium that a camper managed to track down stood between the two groups.

"This isn't _Law & Order_, Frenchie," Clarisse said with a roll of her eyes. "You can't just go and object things as if it really matters." She was on one side of Annabeth, Grover to her right in perfect position if someone chose to attack the Greek leader. Piper and Leo flanked Jason, who was standing midway between the Greek and Roman sides, and Percy was at the podium with Reyna, ever commanding in his regal toga and battle armour.

"Silence, Octavian," Reyna snapped at the augur. "Camp Jupiter _will_be signing this peace treaty even if I have to do it in my own blood."

"Let's not get too hasty, now..." Percy warned. Reyna was being whipped into a frenzy. The tension of the previous fight, Annabeth's appearance, and Octavian's constant strain on her leadership were making her stressed. "Annabeth has something to say." He sidestepped to allowed his girlfriend onto the podium.

"Now I know that this is hard for both camps to cooperate, but in this time of war we need all the power we can get in order to defeat Gaia's armies. But there is something else as well," Annabeth beckoned to Rachel, who was in the crowd and, more power to her, still dressed in her Oracle of Delphi garb.

"There is a prophecy," Rachel called out as she climbed the grassy knoll to the podium. "The second of the great prophecies," Her face was grim, her lips drawn into a thin line. "And we believe that it will be fulfilled within the month!"

Chatter spread through the Senate and head counselors.

"And who are you to tell us this?" asked a Roman.

Rachel looked to Annabeth for permission before speaking. "Because I am the Oracle of Delphi and I was the one who spoke it."

Another set of chattering.

"I wish our augur looked like that!"

"Yeah, Octavian. Why can't you be a hot girl?"

Rachel blushed, but held her ground. "The prophecy states the following:

_'Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. _  
_To storm or fire, the world must fall. _  
_An oath to keep with the final breath, _  
_and foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.'"_

Rachel stopped talking in her intimidating oracle voice and began to address the crowd again. "Now you see why we must–"

The roar that came from the Senate was deafening. Rachel recoiled and relinquished the podium to Reyna, who immediately began to call for order, despite her own surprise at the prophecy.

"Silence. Silence!" She held her hand out to cut the crowd off and the quieted.

"But that isn't possible!" Octavian cried. "The same prophecy is written in _our_ scrolls. The oracle is false!" A crowd of Romans yelled in agreement.

"The oracle speaks the truth." A voice sounded from the edge of the crowd and stepped towards the forefront, Hera appearing in all of her resplendent glory.

"Lady Hera," the teenagers said in unison, all Romans kneeling in worship, all Greeks drawing their weapons in distaste.

"Hello Hera," Annabeth said curtly with a jerk of her chin, her dagger drawn close to her cheek, ready to rumble should the goddess step any closer.

"Annabeth," Hera smiled without warmth, the welcoming feeling she was trying to convey not quite reaching her eyes. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"If by happy you mean angry, betrayed, and incredibly furious, then yes," She tightened her grip on the hilt of the dagger. "I am rather 'happy'."

Reyna let out a small gasp of indignation and shot Percy her fiercest glare.

"Hey Annabeth," Percy whispered, spurred on by his need to keep the peace and entangling his fingers with her to get her attention. "If you could restrain yourself from maiming and/or killing Hera for a second, that would just be peachy."

"Give me one good reason," she replied, leveling her glare at Hera who simply quirked one of her eyebrows in response.

"Diplomacy," Percy said, and then quickly followed it up with, "…and cows."

"Fine," Annabeth lowered her dagger and shoved in back into her sheath, all other Greeks doing the same with their respective weapons. "What do you want, Hera?"

"What we all want," she said. "Peace." Hera walked towards the gap in between the two groups, as if surveying it for demolition. "Much like my Roman counterpart, Juno, I believe it can only be achieved by uniting the two camps."

"Peace treaties, now sponsored by Hera," muttered Thalia underneath her breath.

"But are you going to help us defeat Gaia?" Annabeth asked.

"Oh Annabeth," Hera smiled that cold little smile. "That's for you to figure out all on your own. Your mother will be watching." With a puff of air, she was gone.

Percy looked at Annabeth, Annabeth looked at Percy, and they smiled.

"Here we go again."


End file.
